SIERRA MADRE – As a kid growing up in Arcadia, Steve McNall used to collect snakes and lizards.

But a sparrow hawk he purchased for just $10 would change his life.

“I kept it and trained it,” said McNall, now president and CEO of the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA. “It developed into a lifestyle. I was with that bird when it was in the training process 24/7.”

McNall will share his love for falconry – the art of training falcons, hawks, eagles and other birds of prey to hunt – with the Kiwanis Club of Sierra Madre at noon Tuesday at the Masonic Temple, 33 E. Sierra Madre Blvd.

The public is invited to the presentation. Lunch is provided for $8 a person. Those interested should contact Paul Neiby at (626) 355-1291 to make a reservation.

Accompanying McNall will be Louie, a 13-year-old peregrine falcon, or wandering falcon, known to be the fastest animal on the planet in its hunting dive, which reaches speeds of more than 200 mph.

McNall has been a practicing falconer since 1964 and is licensed by the state Department of Fish and Game and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. He is considered to be a master falconer.

McNall explained that falconry is basically the teaching of birds of prey to hunt their own food, which can consist of rabbits, quail, ducks and geese.

He said this time of year, his organization receives a lot of baby owls and hawks.

“What we’ve been doing at the humane society is using falconry principles to release birds back into the wild,” he said.

He said he hopes Tuesday’s presentation will spark people’s interest in birds of prey so that they will understand the need to protect these animals.

“They’re being threatened in the foothill areas where people are building their homes,” he said. “It destroys their nests and puts poisons in the area.”

Neiby, a board member and past president of the local Kiwanis Club, said the group is expecting about 50 people to come see McNall speak.

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